Saturday, June 7, 2003

Unique 'duck' works on land and sea
KETCHIKAN (AP) Airline passengers know the feeling. Jet engines power the plane down the runway. The nose lifts. You wonder, if this thing is going to fly?

Fewer bears getting into Juneau garbage
JUNEAU (AP) Fewer bears are getting into people's garbage in Juneau this year, a decline perhaps due in part to bears being removed or killed last year, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Judge rules in favor of school officials
JUNEAU (AP) A federal judge ruled that Juneau school officials did not violate a student's rights by confiscating a banner during the Olympic Torch Relay last year.

Lawmakers object to Denali backcountry plan
FAIRBANKS (AP) Republican leaders in the state House and Senate have sent a letter to the National Park Service objecting to the proposed Denali National Park backcountry management plan.

Couple backpacking from coast to coast
VIRGINIA CITY, Nev. On a sunny, windy morning on March 5, 2002, Joyce and Pete Cottrell waved goodbye to the Atlantic Ocean in Delaware and began a walk from sea to shining sea.

Skyview after-grad party committee thanks parents, sponsors
Wednesday, May 21, was the Skyview senior graduation day. Following the ceremony was the after-graduation party organized by the parents and friends of the senior class and made possible from generous donations. These donations came from senior parents and area merchants.

French serve as example of active citizenship
It has been "de rigueur" among some in our country to dismiss out of hand people who disputed and questioned the sources and validity of the faulty intelligence used as overwhelming justification for a first-strike war against another sovereign nation. Some extended allegations of treason or openly called for boycotts of some nations' products.

Rec center debate sparks referendum
Members of the Friends of the Kenai Recreation Center group aren't letting a Kenai City Council vote stop them from opposing a partnership agreement between the city and the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Kenai Peninsula that calls for the club to operate the center.

FEMA awards funding
Local and state agencies on the Kenai Peninsula have been approved to receive more than $400,000 in public assistance funds through the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the state of Alaska.

Assembly spares threatened agency, awards it $50,000
The Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District survived the budgetary ax that threatened to wipe out its primary funding. But the organization did not escape some major fiscal downscaling, as its $90,000 budget was reduced by 44 percent at Tuesday night's Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting.

Photo feature: Decorative duty
Cory Hershberger hangs a decorative banner from a light pole alongside the Kenai Spur Highway on Thursday. Six months from now, Christmas holiday ornaments will be hanging in the same spot.

Rangers tout the other PFD
When Alaska State Parks rangers are patrolling the Kenai River this summer to ensure people are complying with fishing regulations, the officers also will be keeping an eye toward boater safety.

Virginia Darline Hill
Anchorage and Anchor Point resident Virginia Darline Hill died Saturday, May 24, 2003, at Third Medical Group Hospital on Elmendorf Air Force Base from complications of chronic ailments. She was 76.

Robert 'Bob' William Honeysett
Longtime Soldotna resident Robert "Bob" William Honeysett died Wednesday, June 4, 2003, at his home in Soldotna after a long illness. He was 75.

Threat from Iraq remains in question
John F. Kennedy gambled in 1962 when he ordered the U.S. Navy to quarantine Cuba. When Kennedy and his advisers learned that the Soviet Union had built nuclear missile bases just 90 miles from Florida, they considered doing nothing.

British war inquiries should focus on data
In the U.S., two Senate committees have now called joint hearings on whether the Bush administration misused intelligence information to make its case for an attack on Iraq. In Australia, the Labor opposition announced last night it is taking ''a long, hard look'' at calling for an independent inquiry on the same issue (Australia's defense minister has already said public confidence may require such a move).

Climbers summit Mount Hood a year after accident
TIMBERLINE LODGE, Ore. A yearlong journey of sorrow and doubt ended in five minutes last Friday as survivors of a deadly climbing accident stood together on the summit of Mount Hood and silently released handfuls of yellow rose petals into the wind.

Preparedness is the key to effective fire management on Kenai refuge
Be Prepared I remember learning that motto as a young boy, during my short stint as a Cub Scout in the hill country of southern Illinois. And though the phrase seems indelibly etched upon my brain, the reasons behind the memorization of that motto are now lost somewhere amid the clutter in the attic (my brain).

Devils knock the stuffing out of Ducks
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. So much for defense, so much for shutouts. The New Jersey Devils used crazy bounces and lucky breaks to turn around a tight series and get within a victory of the Stanley Cup.

Sports Briefs
Report: Neuheisel says he was in gambling poolSources: Big East schools may want earlier exitGuerrero out with herniated discGeorgia AD's contract won't be renewedGriffey out of lineup a day after tweaking armSierra back to Yankees? Trade talk swirls

Sorenstam stands tall at LPGA
WILMINGTON, Del. Annika Sorenstam ran into familiar foes Thursday in the LPGA Championship a punishing DuPont Country Club and Wendy Ward.

More problems with the French
PARIS It started in the very first game, when a few fans applauded an errant forehand. By the final set, thousands loudly cheered missed serves.

Questions abound about Nets' strategy
SAN ANTONIO There was plenty of second-guessing Thursday at the NBA Finals, most of it centered around Nets coach Byron Scott, New Jersey forward Kenyon Martin and the defensive strategies against San Antonio's Tim Duncan.

Belmont has six horses, one story
Too many people will tune into the Belmont for a few minutes Saturday afternoon, find out there are only a half-dozen horses entered, and wonder what all the fuss is about.